Growing reliance on devices such as cellphones and tablets means more and more cell towers and antennas are cropping up. But should they be built on school grounds?Parent Jessica O'Kane helped lead opposition to a proposed cellphone tower near a playground at her children's school, Piney Orchard Elementary in Anne Arundel County.Mobile users, tap here for video"I would have moved. Myself and a lot of other parents would have moved if this went forward," O'Kane said. "There was going to be no negotiation with us. We were not going to say, 'Oh, OK, well if you give us a new playground, we'll let you go ahead.' No. We don't want it. We absolutely didn't want it."The main complaint was that cell towers emit radio frequency waves. The worry is that they could expose children to serious health risks.But the Federal Communications Commission has said: "Exposure levels on the ground are typically thousands of times below safety limits." It also said, "There is no reason to believe such towers could constitute a potential health hazard to nearby residents or students."Parents question money behind decisionsSome parents are still skeptical, however, and they think money may be clouding the issue.School districts can generate a lot of revenue by renting space for cellular towers and antennas, the 11 News I-Team's Barry Simms reported. There are plenty of them already in Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Montgomery counties.In Baltimore City, two schools have cell towers on their grounds, and a dozen have cellular antennas, most of which are on the roofs. Last year alone, the city school district collected more than $720,000 in rent, Simms reported.A Maryland coalition to halt cellphone towers on schools grounds said it wonders if it's really a fair exchange."Within footsteps of a child is this antenna that's radiating signals, and we very rarely have any technical knowledge and insight into what harm that signal may or may not be causing," said coalition member Kim Trueheart."We're here to educate the parents to get everybody paying attention and to speak with one very loud voice statewide," said coalition member Janice Sartucci.Cell tower company CEO talks safety, inevitabilityThe I-Team traveled to a Virginia school to speak with the president of Milestone Communications, which has cell towers in several Maryland counties. President and CEO Len Forkas said his company's towers are safe."The school sites are very valuable sites because they are large parcels of land. We have lots of choices where we can site the tower where it will have the least amount of visual impact for the community," Forkas said.Verizon Wireless and Milestone have proposed a cellular tower disguised as a tree for Severn and Magothy River middle schools in Anne Arundel County. Coalition families are fighting it. In addition to health concerns, they said they worry about possible hazardous leaks from equipment that's so close to a critical watershed."It's just got to be a big concern for anybody who's environmentally conscious," said Arnold resident Collin Murphy.In Baltimore, City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said she wants a moratorium."I'm calling for no contracts or agreements to be signed that bring these towers onto public school property in Baltimore City," Clarke said.But that could be difficult because of federal telecommunications laws. Milestone doesn't have any contracts with Baltimore City schools but said the increasing need makes them inevitable."The number of towers that are needed has to double in the next 10 years to keep pace with the way in which people are using their wireless devices. The infrastructure has got to be closer to where people are using the service," Forkas said.He said sometimes that means schools, but the coalition hopes it can create big enough hurdles so that cell towers will be built someplace else.School districts in Howard, Harford, Carroll, Cecil and Baltimore counties told the I-Team that they do not have any cell towers or antennas on public school grounds. Some private schools do.

BALTIMORE —

Growing reliance on devices such as cellphones and tablets means more and more cell towers and antennas are cropping up. But should they be built on school grounds?

Parent Jessica O'Kane helped lead opposition to a proposed cellphone tower near a playground at her children's school, Piney Orchard Elementary in Anne Arundel County.

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"I would have moved. Myself and a lot of other parents would have moved if this went forward," O'Kane said. "There was going to be no negotiation with us. We were not going to say, 'Oh, OK, well if you give us a new playground, we'll let you go ahead.' No. We don't want it. We absolutely didn't want it."

The main complaint was that cell towers emit radio frequency waves. The worry is that they could expose children to serious health risks.

But the Federal Communications Commission has said: "Exposure levels on the ground are typically thousands of times below safety limits." It also said, "There is no reason to believe such towers could constitute a potential health hazard to nearby residents or students."

Parents question money behind decisions

Some parents are still skeptical, however, and they think money may be clouding the issue.

School districts can generate a lot of revenue by renting space for cellular towers and antennas, the 11 News I-Team's Barry Simms reported. There are plenty of them already in Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

In Baltimore City, two schools have cell towers on their grounds, and a dozen have cellular antennas, most of which are on the roofs. Last year alone, the city school district collected more than $720,000 in rent, Simms reported.

A Maryland coalition to halt cellphone towers on schools grounds said it wonders if it's really a fair exchange.

"Within footsteps of a child is this antenna that's radiating signals, and we very rarely have any technical knowledge and insight into what harm that signal may or may not be causing," said coalition member Kim Trueheart.

"We're here to educate the parents to get everybody paying attention and to speak with one very loud voice statewide," said coalition member Janice Sartucci.

Cell tower company CEO talks safety, inevitability

The I-Team traveled to a Virginia school to speak with the president of Milestone Communications, which has cell towers in several Maryland counties. President and CEO Len Forkas said his company's towers are safe.

"The school sites are very valuable sites because they are large parcels of land. We have lots of choices where we can site the tower where it will have the least amount of visual impact for the community," Forkas said.

Verizon Wireless and Milestone have proposed a cellular tower disguised as a tree for Severn and Magothy River middle schools in Anne Arundel County. Coalition families are fighting it. In addition to health concerns, they said they worry about possible hazardous leaks from equipment that's so close to a critical watershed.

"It's just got to be a big concern for anybody who's environmentally conscious," said Arnold resident Collin Murphy.

In Baltimore, City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said she wants a moratorium.

"I'm calling for no contracts or agreements to be signed that bring these towers onto public school property in Baltimore City," Clarke said.

But that could be difficult because of federal telecommunications laws. Milestone doesn't have any contracts with Baltimore City schools but said the increasing need makes them inevitable.

"The number of towers that are needed has to double in the next 10 years to keep pace with the way in which people are using their wireless devices. The infrastructure has got to be closer to where people are using the service," Forkas said.

He said sometimes that means schools, but the coalition hopes it can create big enough hurdles so that cell towers will be built someplace else.

School districts in Howard, Harford, Carroll, Cecil and Baltimore counties told the I-Team that they do not have any cell towers or antennas on public school grounds. Some private schools do.